Your baby this week
Your baby now measures about twenty-five centimeters from head to heel — roughly ten inches, about the length of a banana — and weighs around three hundred grams. If "head to heel" sounds like a change, it is: from now on, babies are measured along their whole length, legs included, instead of curled-up crown-to-rump. Your baby is swallowing amniotic fluid regularly — good practice for the digestive system — and taste buds are working, with flavors from your meals reaching the fluid, so your baby is quite literally getting a taste of your cooking.
The hearing system has developed to the point where sounds are getting through — muffled, like listening underwater. Your heartbeat, your stomach's gurgles, and your voice are the soundtrack of your baby's world, and many parents start talking, reading, or singing to the bump around now. No, you don't sound silly.
You sound like home. A creamy white coating called vernix is forming over the skin, fine soft hair called lanugo covers the body, and those movements you may have been feeling as flutters are becoming stronger, more coordinated kicks, rolls, and hiccups — yes, babies hiccup in there, and it feels like tiny rhythmic taps. Your baby is also settling into sleep-and-wake cycles, though their schedule will almost certainly not match yours.
Two more beautiful details: around this time, the unique ridges of your baby's fingerprints are forming, and down in the digestive system, your baby is beginning to produce meconium — the dark first stool they'll pass after birth. Even the startle reflex is online: a sudden loud noise out here can make your baby jump in there.
The anatomy scan: what actually happens
The main event: the anatomy scan, also called the mid-pregnancy or anomaly scan, usually done between about eighteen and twenty-two weeks. Plan for it to take a while — often around thirty to forty-five minutes, sometimes longer. This is not a quick peek; it's a systematic, head-to-toe survey.
The sonographer measures the head and brain structures, looks at the face — checking the lips — and follows the spine from top to bottom. They examine the heart in detail, ideally seeing all four chambers and the major vessels going in and out. They check the stomach, the kidneys and bladder, the abdominal wall, the arms, legs, hands, and feet.
They measure the long bones, estimate growth and weight, check the amount of amniotic fluid, locate the placenta, and measure your cervix. Ask questions as they go — most sonographers will happily narrate. Practical things to know: you may be asked to arrive with a comfortably full bladder — follow your own appointment's instructions.
The gel is cold, the room is dim, partners are usually welcome, and you'll likely leave with photos. If the baby is in an awkward position, you may be sent for a walk, a wiggle, or a cold drink to encourage a somersault. And sometimes a particular view just can't be captured, or a measurement needs a second look, and you're invited back for a follow-up scan in a week or two.
This happens all the time and very often means nothing more than "your baby was doing yoga that day" — a follow-up is a routine part of the process, not a verdict. Finally: this is the scan where, if you want to know, you can usually find out your baby's sex.
If you'd rather keep the surprise, just tell the sonographer before they start, so they can warn you when to look away. There's no wrong choice, only yours.
Your body & symptoms: meet Braxton Hicks
Meanwhile, your body at twenty weeks: your uterus has reached about the level of your belly button, and the bump is now unmistakably a bump. With the shift in your center of gravity, backaches are common — good posture, supportive shoes, and not standing still for long stretches all help. Many women meet Braxton Hicks contractions around this time: your uterus tightening for thirty seconds to a minute, feeling like your belly turning briefly to stone, then releasing.
They're irregular, usually painless or mildly uncomfortable, often triggered by activity, a full bladder, or dehydration — and they typically fade with rest, position change, or a glass of water. Think of them as practice contractions, your uterus rehearsing. Also in the week-twenty collection: leg cramps, often rudely at 3 a.m. — flexing your foot upward usually releases them; heartburn, as your growing uterus nudges your stomach; faster-growing hair and nails; itchy skin across the stretching bump; vivid dreams; a darker line down the center of your belly — the linea nigra; and more vaginal discharge than usual.
Discharge that's itchy, colored, or strong-smelling deserves a mention to your doctor, since infections are common in pregnancy and very treatable. Most of this is the ordinary texture of a body doing extraordinary work.